Portuguese families plan to spend on average €315 this Christmas, according to a worldwide study by financial consultants Deloitte. The sum is 5% less than last year when families spent €333 during the festive season.
According to Deloitte, the only countries planning a larger cut to their Christmas budgets are South Africa (-10%), Greece (-8.6%) and Russia (-7%).
Even though they plan to spend less, Portuguese families are expecting to spend half of their Christmas budget on presents, while €118 will go towards food and drinks, and €54 will be used for “socialising”.
A “lower income” has been pointed as the main reason why families are cutting their Christmas spending, although Deloitte reports that the Portuguese are “more optimistic” about the evolution of the country’s economy and purchasing power.
In fact, the consultants say that the expectations of the Portuguese about the future have improved significantly this year and are “above the European Union average” for the first time since 2009.
Deloitte’s Christmas study was conducted in 14 countries (the UK, France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Poland, Russia, Slovenia and South Africa) where over 14,000 people were interviewed. In Portugal, 761 people took part in the study.
